A sacred space seemed to be declared when a special school bus visited Newtown Middle School August 12.

Manuel and Patricia Oliver, parents of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting victim Joaquin Oliver, arrived in town for a community event as part of “Guac’s Magical Tour” — titled to honor their late 17-year-old son who went by that nickname.

The pair has been traveling the country, visiting places affected by mass shootings and gathering communities together. A screen was mounted on the side of the bus, sliding through pictures and names of those whose lives have been taken by gun violence.

Many attendees of the event wore green or orange, signaling them as belonging to Newtown Action Alliance or its junior high school faction, or supporting the Connecticut Against Gun Violence organization.

Different speakers, particularly youth representatives of these organizations, took to the podium in front of the bus and spoke out against the culture of frequent mass shootings in the United States.

The event was coordinated by Newtown Action alliance members Carol Wakeman and Po Murray in collaboration with the Junior Newtown Action Alliance at Newtown High School, and was hosted by Jr NAA member Grace Fischer.

“I find myself paralyzed with fear that there might be another active shooter roaming the halls,” she said in her speech. “We shouldn’t have to live like this.”

Samuel Schwartz's cousin was killed during the Parkland shooting. He joined the Olivers on their tour for forty days, and implored those at the Newtown stop to consider how many shootings have happened since he took the road.

“I want you to multiply 40 by 110,” said Schwartz, who continued that “zero action is taken by elected officials” on the issue of gun violence.

There were musical acts interspersed throughout the program, including local father-daughter duo Mark and Natalie Barden, and Newtown High School student Jules Kessler.

The Bardens chose “Nothing More” on their setlist, a piece about treating others with kindness written by the band The Alternate Routes in reaction to the Sandy Hook tragedy on 12/14.

Mariam Azeez shared her original poem “When I Grow Up,” which moved her audience, with some humming sounds in what seemed to be an appreciative reaction to her crafted words.

Before all were released to enjoy a food truck and mingle, Manuel Oliver spoke. He said he wanted his late son to be considered an activist.

“There’s no way to negotiate anything here … we lost our kids,” said Oliver, later continuing, “We decided to do this forever. We put our lives in this fight.”

Oliver spoke about the importance of individuals making the issue personal to them, adding to this idea in conversation with The Newtown Bee, where he described the event opening “a window of action” for those who are unsure what to do.

“I’m not a huge lover of road trips, but this has nothing to do with that. It’s a new way of showing support and finding support,” he said about life on the road. “When I think about if I’m tired or I’ve been driving for ten hours, that’s a minor sacrifice.”

“I know what my son went through, so nothing could be … close to the sacrifice of Joaquin losing his life,” he added.

Oliver said he sees the common thread of sadness, frustration, and anger between towns, and expressed a perspective about cultural differences from place to place.

“There’s a lot of understanding, belief, faith, in some places. In other places there’s anger, injustice,” said Oliver. “You can feel how it’s not about faith, it’s about actually losing faith. It’s the opposite.”

“We had a great time today. It was a very light event, which I appreciate. Usually our events are very disruptive,” said Oliver, an assessment that seemed to mirror comments from Junior Action Alliance Co-Chair Molly Zatlukal.

“This one was really nice. It kind of reminded me of some of the vigils we’ve been to,” said Zatlukal, who added she went to one in D.C. and spoke at one for the tragedy in Uvalde.

Zatlukal contrasted it with NAA events advocating for legislation to be passed, or the like.

“It’s nice to take a break but also not, to still be doing something but have it be more united and more feel-good,” said the student.

“We were just here to support Manny and Patricia. That’s what our main goal was about. We didn’t want another rally, we didn’t want another press conference or march or vigil,” said organizer Wakeman, who added the musical acts were Jr NAA’s idea.

Nearing the end of the hour during the program, it started to rain, which did not halt its progression. As it closed, it rained harder, and all gathered underneath the overhang in the front of the building to further connect.

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Reporter Noelle Veillette can be reached at noelle@thebee.com.